Keywords

history lessons, history teachers, history students, Albert Speer, ethical history, history and morality

Abstract

It is curious that as many historians struggle to make their discipline meaningful to students, these instructors often rob the subject matter of its most fascinating and important aspects. Among the biggest failings of the teaching history is a strong tendency to take humanity out of one of the most humane of all studies. In short, rather than giving students examples of moral accomplishments, history does the exact opposite. Many historians continually say that history does not teach lessons. Even esteemed scholars have indicated that history might teach lessons, but those lessons are unclear at best. In this article, rather than argue that history does not teach lessons, I assert that history is actually a gigantic morality play in which all kinds of human activities have been demonstrated in numerous cultural contexts. I also assert that the range of human experience has much to teach the modern world, and the importance of such knowledge is of significant value to our students.

Original Publication Citation

Winkler, A (2007). Ethical history: A contradiction of terms? A Dedicated Voice, 107-116.